Warning! The following contains spoilers for the latest episode of NCIS**. Read at your own risk!**
Ziva David was the focal point of NCIS for the first time in a long time, as fans were treated to an episode that revisited the character's story. It revealed some unknown information about Ziva's time on NCIS and dropped an insane bombshell that will surely have fans talking around the water cooler. It turns out that Cote de Pablo's character is alive, although you shouldn't expect to see her anytime soon. Here's what happened.
The whole thing kicked off when the gang found a young girl hiding out in a storage unit. A D.N.A. match popped up when ran through their database, and revealed the child's mother was a woman believed to have committed suicide years ago, Morgan Burke. Team Gibbs examined an old case file from the suicide, only to find, via a photograph, that Ziva worked the case long ago. Ellie was baffled; why would she follow a case ruled a suicide?
Ziva believed the case was a murder, and had continued working on it in private, unbeknownst to Gibbs. She even had a private office, which she used to document all the past cases she had worked on and take notes on her personal feelings towards those cases. There was plenty of info on Morgan Burke, and Ziva had personally cleared 20 suspects that could've been responsible. Needless to say it helped Ellie cut out a lot of legwork.
Gibbs, of course, wasn't happy about Ziva's secret office and case files, and warned Ellie that Ziva ignoring "Rule 10" is what led to her getting killed. Ziva got personally involved in her cases, and he was afraid that if Ellie did the same it would be her undoing as well. Ellie, of course, contested by saying that Gibbs was wrong, and told her superior there was a lot of wisdom in Ziva's writing and personal passion for these cases.
Ziva's past work and words were a great help to Ellie, who managed to track down Morgan Burke and her captor, and rescue the mother before the situation went south. Gibbs and the crew were right behind her, and apprehended the man, who later had a heart attack on the way to jail. Ellie went to see him to read a piece from Ziva's journal which she had written about him, only to learn someone had already shown up with it.
Confused, Ellie went back to Ziva's former office and saw the padlock was opened. Upon entry, she noticed some of Ziva's materials were missing, but a decorative scarf and note were waiting for her on the desk. Ellie picked up the note, which read "Eleanor Bishop, for the safety of my family, please keep my secret." Ziva is alive, but unfortunately, that's only something Ellie and viewers allowed to know. Will she keep the secret?
NCIS fans may want to watch and find out, as new episodes are back on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. You can also keep track of all things happening on television by visiting our midseason premiere guide.
